Assen: Yamaha Saturday report

Crutchlow and Toseland take ninth and tenth on the grid at Assen for
raceday
Yamaha Sterilgarda riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland made it
through the first Superpole heat this afternoon to secure ninth and tenth
place on the third row of...

Crutchlow and Toseland take ninth and tenth on the grid at Assen for
raceday

Yamaha Sterilgarda riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland made it
through the first Superpole heat this afternoon to secure ninth and tenth
place on the third row of the grid for tomorrow's two World Superbike
races at the Assen TT circuit. Both riders had spent the previous
qualifying sessions working on their set ups for the afternoon's
Superpole heats and had headed in to the Superbike shootout with
confidence. They both made it through the first heat comfortably on race
tyres, then switched to qualifiers midway through the second session.
Crutchlow struggled to improve on his time in the second session leaving
him just outside the top eight at the end. Team mate Toseland was on form
and had nearly completed a hot lap which would have taken him through to
the final eight when a violent wheelie three corners from the end at high
speed disrupted his time.

"I struggled with my qualifier tyre in the second Superpole heat, and
couldn't make it through to the third. Both James and I are still working
on some stability issues which could be seen on track as well. We need to
work hard in tomorrow morning's session to see what we can change in the
set up to make another step forward. We're all working really hard, and
on the positive side the electronics issues we've had in the past are now
working very well for us."

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team
(10th, 1'36.061)

"Frustrated is the word! It was a real surprise for the bike to do that
in a place where I've never had that before, it kicked up and wheelied at
over 180mph in fifth gear, it was a bit touch and go there but luckily I
was able to save it. The lap was good up to that point, I only had two
corners left to go and would have been through to the top eight and the
third session. We've had so much work to do to get where we are, the team
has done a great job trying to get the bike to work here. Tenth on the
grid is not ideal and we're not sure about tyre life, depending on
temperature tomorrow we might not be able to use the softer race tyre,
everyone is waiting to see how warm it will be. I'm not too worried about
race pace, it's all about what happens in those first few laps. The new
fast section has effectively deleted a passing place so I'll have to get
off the line well and see how we go."

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager

"We still have one practice session left tomorrow morning, for sure we
will never give up so we will spend the session working hard to make more
improvements ahead of the two races. We will definitely find something to
help us. James was very unlucky on his hot lap in the second Superpole
session, it was good he managed to save it safely. He's got a good race
pace so needs a good start tomorrow and we will see what he can do. Cal
has shown this weekend that he also has a competitive pace, especially on
worn tyres so we are confident both riders can perform tomorrow."